President Obama along with The Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) last week brought close to 40 youth from across the country for a conversation/meeting around rising HIV/AIDS rates and how it relates to the youth of America.

ONAP has been charged to develop the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), in response to the rising rates of HIV/AIDS which the Center for Disease Control and Prevention speaks on often. The NHAS will address three topics of (1) reducing the numbers of new people infected (incidence), (2) increasing the number of people linked to care and, (3) reducing HIV-related health disparities as it relates to HIV infection.

After the Director of ONAP, Jeffrey Crowley and others from his office greeted us we were divided on the three lines in accordance to the three goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. I was fortunate to contribute on the lines of Population-specific Challenges that Contributes to Disparities in Delivery of Care.

Many of our recommendations center on ending/reducing stigma and discrimination,  increasing cultural competency around awareness of HIV/AIDS and bring more medical options to the communities most affected by HIV/AIDS. It was aspiring to hear so many testimonies from those affected and living with HIV/AIDS and seeing them continue to go forward in life.

Since the meeting our recommendations have been drafted into a working document and we will submit our report to ONAP this TUESDAY! I definitely think the Nation HIV/AIDS Strategy is much needed and it will do what it is set out to do.

In the mean time, I will be here to report any updates! Until next time….